Sony NWZ-Z1000

Summary

Review Price to be confirmed

The Z1000 will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions (plus a 64GB version coming to Japan only) and will be powered by a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, features Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA support. The Z1000 runs a skinned version of Android 2.3 and gives you access to Android Market. The battery life is pegged at 14 hours of music playback.

The NWZ-Z1000 uses a S-Master MX Digital Amplifier and five Clear Audio technologies to help with music playback. These Clear Audio technologies include S-Master MX, DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), and EX headphones.

A button featuring the Walkman logo sits on the right hand side of the player giving you instant access to the W.Control app where you can control and browse your music. Music purchasing is done through Sony's Music Unlimited service.

The interface is what we've come to expect from Sony and is laid out in a logical manner, though some of the more intricate settings menus were not easy to find the first time around, however we imagine owners will soon become accustomed to the layout.

SenseMe software is also included, automatically sorting your music collection into 14 different mood-themed channels. For those who just love to tweak the sound coming from your player, five-channel equalisation is available as well as custom and preset options for different types of music available. It all works as you would expect, though during our brief play the sliders didn't respond very well to our fingers.

Audio support is decent with WMA as well as MP3, AAC and Linear PCM supported, however audiophiles out there will be disappointed that neither FLAC nor Ogg will be supported.

The sound you get through your earphones is certainly a step up from what you get from a smartphone but we'll need further testing before we can say definitively how good it is.

The NWZ-Z1000 will be launching in March with US pricing set at : NWZ-1040 (8GB) for $249; NWZ-Z1050 (16GB) for $279; and NWZ-Z1060 (32GB) for $329. We're waiting to hear back from Sony regarding UK pricing.